OAKLAND, Calif. – Sonya Curry, the mother of Golden State's Stephen Curry, had quite the Mother's Day, so much that it'll be tough to beat in the years to come.

First, she and her husband, former NBA player Dell Curry, attended the college graduation of their other ball-playing son, Seth, at Duke in Durham, N.C., on Sunday morning. Afterward, the Currys watched on television as Stephen overcame a major ankle injury to score 22 points in 38 minutes to help the Warriors even up a second-round series with a 97-87 overtime victory in Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs. The triumph affords mom the ability to watch a potential series-deciding Game 6 here in person Thursday night.

"I watched a graduation," Sonya Curry told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview. "Then the Warriors won. My day is complete. "Every Mother's Day is wonderful. But this one will stand out because a lot of stuff happened."

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Stephen Curry's biggest opponent during his four-year NBA career has been ankle injuries, which have led to two surgeries on his right foot. The latest ankle issue was on his left as Curry sprained it late during a Game 3 loss to the visiting Spurs on Friday night. A frustrated Curry didn't talk to reporters after the loss, but he did talk to his mother via text message after the game and Saturday morning.

"She's not here, but she's my voice of reason," Curry said. "I tried to vent my frustration because it seems like every time you get on a roll and feel somewhat healthy there's a setback."

Mom's motivational tactic?

"I always look up a [Bible] scripture for him in tough times," Sonya Curry said. "This has been tough on him as far as the physical beating. He's hurting. I gave him a scripture saying that you can't do it physically, but spiritually. Trust God to do it. Worry about Sunday when Sunday gets here.

"He has nothing more to prove. They've done a lot. But he takes on everything 200 percent. I tell him not to burden himself. He can't do everything."

While Stephen Curry can't do everything, his dominating play in the postseason is why the Warriors are two games away from the Western Conference finals, a round they haven't seen since 1976.

Curry woke up Sunday morning with a swollen left ankle and uncertainty if he could play. It didn't help that the game started relatively early at 12:30 p.m. PT. Curry took an anti-inflammatory shot in hopes of easing the swelling and pain.

About 45 minutes before tip-off, Curry tested the ankle outside the Warriors' locker room by jumping rope, jogging and back-pedaling. Curry then went to the Oracle Arena floor where he ran several wind sprints from baseline to half court as nervous fans cheered loudly. He next met with coach Mark Jackson and team general manager Bob Myers.

"He said, 'I'm going to give you what I got, Coach,' " Jackson said. "That's not the language he speaks. I knew right away that he was not 100 percent."

Said Curry: "I was hurting, but I was good enough to play. When I woke up this morning, that's what I was hoping for."

Prior to tip-off, Curry texted his parents that he was playing. The Currys watched the first half of the game at a restaurant and then the second half from Seth's apartment.

"I wasn't as nervous about this game as the other three games," Sonya Curry said. "I don't know why. Maybe it was because I texted him with all those words. I was speaking to myself, too."

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Stephen Curry struggled to run up and down the floor, jump and move laterally while he scored six points, both on 3-pointers in 14 first-half minutes. Curry heated up in the third quarter to score 10 points, including two 3-pointers, to slice San Antonio's eight-point halftime lead to 62-60 at the end of the frame.

Curry usually takes the biggest shots at the end of games for the Warriors. But with him hobbling and teammate Jarrett Jack owning the hot hand, Jackson picked Jack to take the game-winning attempt in regulation on an isolation play. Jack, who had 24 points off the bench, missed and the confused crowd groaned.

"I'm sure if it were the other way [health-wise] they'd try to go at me," Curry said. "And Jack was feeling good. He had four huge buckets down the stretch and was feeling good."

Curry had three points in overtime as the Warriors outscored the Spurs 13-3. He talked to the media for more than 20 minutes after the game while his ankles were submerged in an ice bucket. Curry isn't certain if the time off before Game 5 in San Antonio on Tuesday will be beneficial. He also expressed concern about how his ankle would be affected on the flight to Texas on Monday.

"I doubt it will be 100 percent for the foreseeable future," Curry said. "But knowing that I can be on the court as a threat, I've got to be ready."

Through the ankle pain and playoff craziness, Curry said he remembered to send two dozen red roses to his mom.

"They were beautiful," Sonya Curry said, "and I think the daughter-in-law sent it."